Taking Advantage of Office Supplies on Sale!

Part of being a mystery shopper is that you do a lot of printing. I have blogged about the new laser printer we got and the cost of toner. However, there is another cost to printing and that is PAPER! We go through at least a ream of paper(500 pages) a week and when new shops come out, we can go through two reams of paper in a day!

Last year, we found paper on sale during the summer school supply sales. Office Max, Staples and Office Depot all have some kind of reward program and they are having sales again this year. Last week we each bought two reams of paper that cost $5.99, but then got $5.98 in rewards! That means we really only paid ONE CENT for each ream. Now we do have to wait until our rewards come in come October, but I can do that. I can always buy something at an office supply store. Staples had their paper on sale and you apply for the rebate and again we will end up only paying ONE CENT for each ream. Today I went and got more paper and this time I will get all of my money back in rewards except ONE DOLLAR, so each ream only cost me a dollar. They also put batteries on sale a few times a year. I bought a large pack of batteries for $16.99 and am getting $16.98 back in rewards.

Now, the downside is, you have to pay quite a bit in the beginning and then wait for the rewards. However, it does add up. Last year I got me a nice blue tooth with all of my rewards. I still do some printing on my small ink jet printer for colored sheets for shops or to print things a bit darker than the laser jet, so I can use my rewards for ink! I also keep track of all of my expenses, so I can write them off on my income taxes!

Even if you just do a small amount of printing at home, this is the best time to purchase it and if you get a few reams, it might last you until next year!

Gas Mileage

I just traded in my Hyundai Santa Fe for  a Hyundai Elantra Touring. I loved my Santa Fe, but at 21 MPG on the highway, it was just way too expensive to fuel up. This new car will get 30 to 32 MPG on the highway and 23 MPG in the city. I will probably hit a nice average between those two numbers! Between my teaching job, which requires me to drive and my mystery shopping I can put a LOT of miles on a car. Let's just say, I picked up my car yesterday with 136 miles on it and am over 400 miles today, just two days later!


The Elantra is a bit smaller than the Santa Fe, but not by too much. It seems to be easier to handle and still has a fair amount of space in the hatch. The car is black and looks pretty sleek! When I figure my gas mileage, I will let you know, but I think it will be good!

I have two gas shops tomorrow and plan on fueling up!

You Got to Have Money, To Make Money!

The saying, "You have to have money to make money," is very true about mystery shopping....at least in the beginning. I work for five different mystery shopping companies. Two pay twice a month, one pays once a month, the fourth pays every two weeks and the last one pays weekly(about 30 days after your shop, so you may not get paid each week). Some shops, like the banks, don't cost anything when you visit. The fast food shops can cost me between $5 and $13 each visit. So I pay for my meal and then I get reimbursed and get the FEE for the shop. For some of the nicer restaurants I am out $25 to $40 before I get reimbursed. Some office shops only cost me $1because the company wants a receipt to prove you were there. I usually try to get something right around that $1 price.

When I get paid by the company that pays once a month, at least half of my pay is reimbursement. Now, the nice thing about reimbursement is you don't get taxed for that amount. I like that I can feed us a good meal and get paid to do it, so reimbursement is nice. However, by the middle of the month, I am really wanting that paycheck! Now I like to get paid every two weeks, but for that company I don't work that much. It is a balancing act. Like I said in my last post, not all meals are worth mystery shopping for. I try to choose something that I will like, especially if it is a high end meal. I put it on my credit card and then pay it when I do get reimbursed.

If you do decide to try mystery shopping, start off slow with the meals. Once you get first paycheck or two then you will have the money needed to choose more fast food/restaurant shops if you like!

Just Because the Meal is Free, Doesn't Mean You'll Like It!

I took a friend to lunch today as part of a mystery shop. It was at a local restaurant that also has a bar. The reimbursement was enough to cover the meal and tip. We ordered our food and waited in anticipation--remember I have done other restaurants, and I have never really been disappointed--and then the meal arrived. OH WOW, did we get some FRIED food. I ate about half my food and she did the same. Of course, it doesn't help that I am older and my stomach isn't as young as it used to be! Now, I will say, service was good and the atmosphere was as it should be, but the food wasn't that great. Thankfully, it is not a meal that I had to pay for! I will get reimbursed, but I won't be signing up for this restaurant again.

I have another dinner tonight and I am taking Elijah with us! I have been to this restaurant before, and am fully expecting a good meal. The reimbursement won't cover the whole meal, but it will cover up to half, and that ain't too bad either! Just a reminder to me, try a shop once before you sign up for too many of them. You just may not like that shop!

Teenagers come in handy when Mystery Shopping

Jacob is a wonderful asset to have around when I mystery shop. There is just no way I could eat the fast food that I buy. I just rejoined weight watchers and am trying to lose weight, so I am bringing home most of the food I buy. I can't really tell you WHAT he is eating, as the mystery shopping companies don't like us to reveal the restaurants and fast food places we visit. Let's just say he is eating a lot and having two dinners most nights. He will eat fast food at least twice today. As a teenage boy, he is loving it! I swear he is a bottomless pit! I would rather have him eat it, then throw it away. I am getting double the pay for many of these shops or I wouldn't even take them. Now, let's just hope he doesn't gain too much weight!

Food, Food and More Food

Tonight was the first night I have had to cook dinner in three days! We have either gone out to eat or brought food home from mystery shopping. Monday night was a nice night out at a local restaurant that reimbursed for the whole meal plus tip. We even had left overs the next day for lunch. Tuesday night the boys ate pizza that I had gotten earlier in the day and I ran out and got my dinner with a mystery shop. Last night, I brought home dinner for everyone! I brought home lunch today! Every week is not like this. I usually can bring home only one meal, but it does happen. I have several more dinners coming up in the next few weeks.

Jacob enjoys eating some of the fast food that I bring home. I am glad he will eat it, because I am trying to lose weight and fast food is NOT good for that!

The really neat thing is that I usually get PAID to go out and purchase this food!

Changed the Laser Toner Cartridge

Remember the laser printer that my dad and step mom gave us? Well, we finally had to change the toner cartridge for it today. I looked back in the blog and we started using it on Jan. 30th of this year. It is now four months later and we figure at least 6,000 copies. Not bad for $54 for the drum and cartridge. We spent $47 and got two more cartridges. My black ink cartridges for my ink jet printer usually averaged about 200 pages so that would have been 30 cartridges times $16 a cartridge. That would have been $480! Needless to say, the laser printer has saved us a lot of money!

Most people don't print 6,000 pages in three months at home, but we do! Mystery shopping is a good way to make money, but you do spend the money too! I started an excel document to keep track of my expenses and plan on adding my new computer to that list too!